By Dustin
After taking Will to the airport on Thursday, Jenna and I decided to spend the night at Moulin Ser Mer, a resort near St. Marc, about one hour’s drive up Route National 1 on the eastern side of Haiti. This was uncharted territory for us, a new part of Haiti to see. The road was actually quite nice, complete with a center stripe, and, where necessary, guardrails! Never thought we’d see such a thing here! (Guardrails are also going up on Rte. 3, the road that leads to Hinche from PAP.)
Not too far out of PAP, We passed by a sign that simply read “St. Christophe”. St. Christophe is one of the mass graves from the earthquake. Many of the 250,000 plus-some say as many as a half million-are buried here. Like many cultures around the world, Haitians have much respect for there dead, and hold elaborate funeral services for their family members that have passed away. To simply dump them in this grave was seen as an insult, a great disrespect, but in the aftermath of the quake, it was simply the only thing that could be done. To not quickly bury the bodies would cause outbreaks of disease that could quickly become epidemic, especially in such a crowded and unsanitary place.
The crosses only cover a small portion of the actual gravesite. Anywhere you see gravel in the picture is the grave, and it extends well beyond the frame. I shot this at 16mm, the widest my camera lens goes, and I still could not get it all. I would say it is at least 2-3 acres in size.
This cross was at the head of all the other crosses. The plaque reads, “January 12, 2010; We remember those who went before us in the journey of life.”
After spending a little time a St. Christophe, we got back in our car and drove north. Just before we reached Moulin Ser Mer, we came upon a long line of vehicles stopped in the road. This usually means either a roadblock or an accident. This time, it was the latter. A semi truck tried to make a tight left turn onto a side road that quickly went downhill. The dolly of the trailer dug into the road, causing a major traffic jam. The driver of the truck was trying to jack up the cab and put rocks under the tires to lift the truck up enough to get the dolly off the ground. There was just (and I mean just!) enough room to squeeze by between the back of the trailer and the 3 foot deep ditch. So, one at a time, the smaller cars were able to pass through. The big trucks were stuck waiting for however long it took for the semi to be cleared out, which I would say took the rest of the afternoon.
Once we got checked in at Moulin Ser Mer, I immediately headed to the beach to do some snorkeling. I had been told there was some coral heads off the beach, so we brought our mask and fins to check it all out. Sure enough, right off the beach there was some corals and fish, and about 75 meters out was a big ledge that contained a reef. It took me several tries before I was able to get the confidence to swim out into the deeper water-I was having flashbacks of being swept out to sea in the Dominican-but I was in a calm bay, so I knew there would not be any rip currents. So, on about my third attempt, I finally willed myself to do a lap out in front of the reef, which was in about 30 feet of water. The sun was out, so I was able to see the great effect of sunlight shimmering across the corals.
I saw several species of fish-Sergeant Majors, lots of Squirrelfish, three small porcupine puffers, a boxfish, flounder, pipefish, 3 or four different species of damselfish, a couple different angelfish, and lots of fry. What I didn’t see was a healthy reef. Many of the corals were dying or on their way out, and most of them were brown. I saw very little blue or red corals, and only a handful of sponges. In addition, there were lots of spiny urchins about. This is again a sad reminder of the state of Haiti’s environment. Because most of the trees are gone, every rainy season thousands of tons of soil, washes into the ocean, choking out the ocean life. Because there is no trash service, sewer systems, etc, thousands of tons of raw sewage and trash make their way to the ocean every year. Also, because of the booming population, anything that can be eaten is being fished out. Conchs, lobster, bigger reef fish, are all almost nonexistent. Since there are no regulations, everyone can take as they please-it’s highly unlikely that regulations would matter anyways. Because of climate change, reefs around the world are dying out, but here, it is exacerbated by what is happening on the land around the reefs.
Anything that can be said about the reefs also goes for the freshwater habitats as well. Overfishing is the rule, not the exception. Every market day, there are fish for sale that would be considered bait in the US. All the big fish are gone, so now what is left? The fish are coming out of the lakes and rivers before they reach breeding size. Before all that trash, sewage, and soil reaches the ocean, it must travel down all the rivers. The rivers are also where bathing, washing clothes, etc., take place.
Haiti’s population has grown from 3 million to 9 million in 40 years. This little island simply is not going to be able to sustain the population over the long term. I hate to even think about what is going to happen-mother nature will correct itself eventually, with disastrous results. That can be said for many places around the world, not just here. This is yet another extremely complex issue in Haiti. Like many third-world cultures, having many children is a symbol of manliness and health. Many families have 6,8, or more children. Worse, men take multiple wives or girlfriends, and have several children by each woman. Whenever we meet someone new, the conversation always includes “how many children do you have?” as if there is something wrong with us for choosing not to have kids. Condoms are commonly blown up and used as balloons rather than their intended purpose. Because of the Catholic influence, birth control is seen as sinful and to be avoided.
It’s easy to think that Haiti is a self-destructive culture, that Haitians are too dumb to realize what they are doing, etc., etc. Indeed, that is the prevailing thoughts-all one has to do is read the comments on any Yahoo story about Haiti. But, like everything else, the truth is more complex. What if everything you had was gone? No house, no utilities, no running water or electricity, no grocery store, no transportation, no bank account, no job, nothing. At best you live in something the size-but less well built-than the shed that your lawnmower sits in. If you want to eat, then you have to farm your own food, or catch it. Need to drink? Carry your bucket to the nearest water source and pray that it isn’t contaminated with Cholera, and, even if it is, you have to drink it anyways, because there is no way to purify the water. Need to cook your food? Well, since there are no utilities, you can’t use electricity or gas, so what does that leave? The trees. Do you save the trees, or cut them down so you can live? Oh, and there are no wild animals left, save for rats and some small birds. There is no hunting for deer or rabbits or squirrels, because they don’t exist. Because the trees are gone, the soil sucks and can’t sustain herds of animals, save for some chickens and goat. Because you have to farm you food, you need cheap labor, so you have 12 kids, hoping that at least some of them live to help you hoe the fields. If you get sick, then the hospital demands payment up front, and there are no guarantees that you can get treated. Imagine going to a hospital with no running water or electricity, little sterilization, no records, etc. This is the reality that Haiti faces every day.
Well, I’ve gotten off on a rant here. Sorry for being a Debbie-downer. I guess the moral of the story is to be thankful for the rising costs of utility bills, taxes, fishing and hunting regulations, speed limits, police and firemen, getting your car inspected every year, and having a government that you may disagree with.
